Topic of the conference:
Impact of the Tohoku Earthquake and the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear
power plant on energy policies in the EU and Japan.
Date:
26th November 2011.
Venus:
Kwansei Gakuin Univ. Uegahara Campus.
Speaker:
Session 1① Mrs. Laure Batut (EESC).
② Prof. Dr. Nakase Akifumi (Osaka City Univ.).
Session 2③ Mrs. Eve Päärendson (EESC).
④ Prof. Dr. Nomura Munenori (Institute for Industrial Research Kwansei Gakuin
University).
Session 3⑤ Mr. Krzysztof Pater（EESC）.
⑥ Associate Prof. Seki Yoshihiro（Kwansei Gakuin Univ.）.
Session 4⑦ Mr. Sandy Boyle (EESC).
Topic:① Nuclear Energy –The EU after FUKUSHIMA-.
② The Electric Supply System in Japan and the Accident at the Tohoku Earthquake.
③ Energy Policy in the EU after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
A Perspective of the Operating Companies.
④ The Energy policy after the Tohoku Earthquake.
⑤ Disaster Preparedness and Relief Cooperation – The Key Role of Volunteer’s Teams(Polish Case).
⑥ Civic Activities in the Tohoku Earthquake.
⑦ The role of civil society in the EU-Japan Relations.

Outline:
Session 1① First, Mrs. Laure Batut had explained the nuclear energy policy in the EU and theEuropean Strategy “Energy 2020”. There are more than 140 nuclear reactors in themember states of the EU. Many of these reactors are located in close vicinity of large
cities. Second, she introduced the “Road Map to 2050” which was established by theEU commission. The main goal of this Road Map is to considerably increase the ratioof renewable energies until 2050.
② Prof. Dr. Nakase Akifumi mainly discussed three topics: First, the relation between
the electric supply system in Japan and nuclear power generation. Second, whether
the nuclear accident after the Tohoku earthquake could have been prevented ornot？ And final, third, what will be the impact on Japan in case of abandoning
nuclear energy generation and shifting the policy towards energy supply fromrenewable sources？ With this respect he emphasized the importance of electricdemand adjustment.
Session 2③ Mrs. Eve Päärendson focused on the EU energy policy in reaction to the accident at
the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The EU energy policy has threeobjectives, which are “ensuring security of energy supply”, “enhancingcompetitiveness” and “ensuring sustainability”. In reacting to the Fukushima
Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident, the member states of the EU issued safety
reviews and conducted risk and safety assessments of all nuclear reactors in the EU(stress tests).
④ Prof. Dr. Nomura Munenori’s lecture concentrated two issues, first ‘The Framework
for Compensating for the Damage Caused by the Nuclear Accident’ and, secondly, on‘Electricity Inter-connector Policies between EU countries’. He emphasized theimportance of establishing a similar system of power interchange between Japan andSouth Korea, which is, however, a very sensitive problem.

Session 3⑤ Mr. Krzysztof Pater talked about the ‘Disaster Preparedness and Relief Cooperation’in Poland with particular respect to volunteer groups in his country and in the EU.
At the moment there are approximately 94 million volunteers in Europe. With
regard to the Polish Case he explained that already in 1921 the “Voluntary FireBrigades” was established that are utilizing 15,913 fire stations at the moment.
In addition to utilizing fire stations, VFB volunteer brigades are equipped andtrained to provide help in case of disasters, including disasters caused by chemicalaccidents.
⑥ Associate Prof. Seki Yoshihisa explained problems of disaster volunteers particularwith respect to disaster volunteers in the regions affected by the Tohoku Earthquake.
The main difference between the Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, and the Tohoku
Earthquake has been, that the Tohoku earthquake caused an unprecedented nuclear
power plant accident. This resulted in the fact that this time the number of disastervolunteers was much fewer than at the time of the Hanshin Earthquake. With thisrespect Prof Seki emphasized how important it is that the needs of the victims
matches with the help the volunteers are able to provide.
Session 4⑦ Mr. Sandy Boyle in his lecture talked about The European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC). The EESC is a consultative body of the European Union. It has
344 members from all 27 EU member states that are representing employers,workers, and other interest groups like consumers farmers etc. Mr. Boyle specificallydrew the attention to the role of civil society and the activities of the EESC in
particular with respect to the economic crisis, the demographic change andCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Ending his speech he emphasized the needfor EU-Japan cooperation also on the level of civil society organizations.
After the lectures, floor and speakers discussed various problems, reaching from, forexample, the problem of civility, the measures of electric demand adjustment in Japan,
and the function of EESC.
Number of Audiences:
25 students and 15 visitors.